MISSION IS FUN

FR JORGE IN THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK

BY FR MUSEKETERI MKOTOKOTO

FR JORGE was very fond of visiting Kruger National Park and sightseeing while filming with his video camera. The mission
where he was stationed, Waterval, is situated 30 km away from one of the entrances to the Park.

One Monday, commonly considered a day off for the priests, Fr Jorge decided to spend some time in the reserve, contemplating the beauty of its scenery and tracking animals armed with his camera.

A few weeks earlier, a catechist’s husband from one of the villages served by the mission, employed as a guard in Kruger, had been fatally charged by an elephant while riding on his bicycle in the Park.

As Fr Jorge spotted a herd of elephants crossing the road ahead of him, he alighted from his car—something absolutely forbidden by the Park—to record the view. A traffic police officer arrived and stopped his car
behind Fr Jorge’s and started recriminating his behaviour. As the priest was of quick temperament, he loudly replied to the officer: “How
do you dare reproach me for this when your employees are exposed to dangerous wild animals as they ride on bicycles in the Park?”

The police officer—not involved in the management of the animal reserve—was taken aback by Fr Jorge’s response and let him
proceed without issuing a fine but warned him not to repeat such an imprudent action.

NB: The names of the characters have been changed.

THE LAST WORD

The Flight to Egypt (Mt 2: 13–15): A New Exodus of Liberation

BY Fr Silvano Fausti SJ | Biblist and writer

THE STORY of Jesus in this passage is presented as a journey; the journey of the Son, retracing the same path of His lost brothers and sisters.

The episode concludes with a biblical quotation: ‘Out of Egypt, I called my son’ (Hos 11: 1), which interprets the event in the light of the Word; the whole history of Israel is, in fact, a prophecy of the life of Jesus. He descends and ascends from Egypt, the Son accomplishes the new and definitive exodus. He is the light to every human being who dwells in darkness and the shadow of death (Mt 4: 15f).

The Nazarean, as the people of Israel, is liberated from Egypt and from exile and returns to the Land. The passage sums up the drama of Israel and of every person. On the one hand, there is the king and, on the other, the child; the good persecuted by the wicked. Initially, the good is the loser and the evil is the winner and the stronger; but in the end, the Innocent wins, precisely defeating evil with His own blood. The story, from an apparent victory of the powerful, becomes the story of the beloved son, who saves his brothers who had sold him (cf. Gen 50: 20).

In verse 13, an angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream. Like his namesake, sold by his brothers, Joseph is a ‘dreamer’; in the depths of his pure heart, he sees God (Mt 5: 8). Dreams often seem unreal to us; instead, they are the principle of all reality. Even if one does not know it, one always realises his dreams. God’s dreams always come true in the end, even if they seem impossible to us (Ps 126: 1; Acts 12: 9; Lk 24: 11, 37).

The angel speaks the Word: ‘get up!’ which awakens us to life, in line with God’s dream. Joseph does not respond to the Word with words, but with his bodily reaction. The answer is himself executing God’s voice literally. He practises love in deed and in truth (1 Jn 3: 18), a worship pleasing to God (Rom 12: 1). To obey means to listen by standing in front, facing the other. He who obeys is like the Son because he hears and does His word.

Mary is mentioned at the beginning of the Gospel as the wife of Joseph (Mt 1: 18, 19). Here the ‘child and his mother’ is mentioned, always putting the child first. Mary, Israel and the Church are not the centre; they lead to the centre, which is Him! Both Jesus and His mother are entrusted to the hands of Joseph, the prototype of believers.

The King of the Jews flees to Egypt because of the king of Judea—just as Joseph fled to Egypt because of the envy of his brothers.

Herod represents the figure of the Pharaoh, present in Israel, in the Church, and in each one of us. In our ‘paganism’, just as there is the quest of the Magi to worship the Lord, so there is the quest of Herod, who, like Pharaoh, will kill his children. Jesus, who, like Moses, is miraculously saved, enters Egypt to fulfil the new exodus.

Jesus in Egypt lives as a stranger, in solidarity with the loneliness of all the oppressed, His brothers and sisters. Herod, like Pharaoh, has also an end; the Son, like Israel, sees his end. God from on high laughs at the mighty and their plots (Ps 2: 4). Jesus’ forced ‘flight’ is not the end, but only the fulfilment of God’s plan. Evil is its executor: ‘He has dug the pit into which he will fall’ (Ps 7: 16).

The coming out of Egypt (Hos 11: 1) represents the birth of the Son from the dark womb of slavery. Hosea was speaking of a new exodus, from an even harsher Egypt, the return from Babylon—a time which will mark the beginning of a new springtime between God and His people, which will blossom in the desert (Hos 2: 16).

YOUTH VOICES

A PLACE TO CALL HOME

‘Home is where the heart is’, as they say, is not bound to a physical space or a specific situation, but it is more about our willingness to get involved in reality and the people with whom we live

BY JILL A. WILLIAMS | CANDIDATE LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, PRETORIA

WHEN WE think of immigration and becoming a refugee or an asylum seeker in a foreign land (and all that goes with it), it sounds like something out of a suspense-filled drama or a thriller; something that happens out there and not in one’s own circle. From the political
tumult in one’s country or region, to the upheaval in one’s city and possibly one’s home, it becomes increasingly impossible to stay rooted, to stay sane and positive about something good coming out of such a situation and for an end to the unrest. Fleeing is the only solution. Run and survive or stay and die. According to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), about 100 million individuals as of May 2022 faced similar displacements worldwide—10.7 million more than in 2021, most probably due to the war in Ukraine amongst other causes (UNHCR 2023).

Searching for a new home

Jesus, Mary and Joseph similarly experienced a period of unrest soon after the glory and splendour of the Nativity. Matthew 2: 13 recalls it: ‘Now after they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek
the child to destroy him”.’ Soon after experiencing the beauty and joy of a new life, the terror of death was now on the heels of the Holy Family. The instruction was simple: flee. They found refuge in Egypt, a land which once was a place of slavery for their people. There they were
safe and could enjoy their new life as a young family. Yet, they had to stay alert, to lie low and wait. For how long? Only God knew. Mary and Joseph might have echoed the words of Charles Dickens in his historical novel, A tale of two cities, ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair’ (Dickens 1859).

We all experience this dichotomous journey sometimes in our own lives, in some form or another. A family who was left homeless after a flood hit their town, making their way to a shelter for aid; a drug addict taking the first brave steps to a rehabilitation centre; an ostracised church-goer moving to a new place of worship; an overworked and underpaid
employee attending an interview for a new job; an emotionally abused person breaking ties with their abuser or even a boy being initiated into manhood. At times, this new ‘home’ is a temporary physical or mental residence which provides the peace and shelter needed as we plan for our next step in life; at other times, it becomes a place where we settle
permanently, as we see ourselves having better opportunities in the new place. The journey is long, and not without its own set of challenges. The new ‘home’ is filled with possibilities, but also many hurdles to overcome—a new language, a new culture, a new start.

Getting involved

I was introduced to the term flâneur a few years ago—a strolling wanderer who looks and observes, not really participating in the activities being observed. This French term is usually associated with
the elite or middle class—a pastime of the well-off. Sometimes we do this in our social circles—looking at and observing people and situations, but not getting too involved by getting to know them on a deeper level. This means we avoid immersing ourselves in alternate
realities and experiences. We are all on a journey, whether or not this is in haste or to another physical country or land. Why then are we so afraid of involving ourselves in ‘the other’, the unknown? Perhaps we are afraid that we might just find that we too are sojourners and strangers in this world, that it is not our permanent home (1 Peter 2: 11).

Jesus walked this earth, a stranger living amongst His own people; His own Creation. He travelled and observed, but also participated in the joys and sorrows of the people He lived amongst. He knew that His time on earth was a temporary journey to an everlasting home with His Father. Yet even in His being seen as a strange, yet wonderful teacher by the people with whom He dwelt, He stooped down to the lowest in society and dined with them. Like Jesus, in order to call the land ‘home’, even just for a short while, one must immerse oneself in it—not only observing life but living it.

Jesus travelled and observed, but also participated in the joys and sorrows of the people He lived amongst

Nothing in life is guaranteed and the security of our present situation can be changed in an instant, as we all experienced in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. We each are a moment away from experiencing the distress and confusion of displacement— the tormenting thought of leaving the known to enter the unknown—even when we convince ourselves and hope beyond all hope that nothing bad will happen to us. Yet there is hope in any affliction—the realisation that you are not alone; that great opportunities lie ahead and that there is something better waiting you.

Displacement

This was the experience of the people of Israel, who were taken as captives in Babylon—somewhat the opposite experience of the refugee or immigrant. They lived happily in their land, their home, yet were forcibly removed and made to live in Babylon. By the rivers of Babylon,
by Bob Marley & the Wailer (Song Lyrics 2023), echoes Psalm 137 and the story of the Israelites in captivity: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion. When the wicked carried us away in captivity. Required from us a song, now how shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” Although this was a move from a time of peace to a period of unrest, there are some similarities with the experience of an immigrant: the feeling of displacement and having to acclimatise to a completely new way of life in a new environment (and amongst new people). The exiled did not know if they would ever see Israel again or be able to eat the fruit of the land. The future seemed bleak.

Like Jesus, in order to call the land ‘home’, one must immerse oneself in it—not only observing life but living it

However, after being taken captive by the Babylonians under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar, the Israelites were given a sign of hope through a letter given to the King, which was written by the prophet Jeremiah, addressed to the Israelites: “Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I
have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace” (Jeremiah 29:2–7). God wanted them to call the new land their home. He wanted them to continue
living, working and worshipping Him as they used to, with hope in their
hearts, so that through their lives they would glorify God and not their captors.

Open and welcoming home

Furthermore, the prophet gives this Word from God: “I alone know my purpose for you, says the Lord: wellbeing and not misfortune, and a long line of descendants after you” (Jeremiah 29: 11). Although the enemy had planned for the captive and the refugee to remain in the shadows, unloved and unknown, God still has a good plan in store for both. Ultimately whatever period of transition or journey to a new physical, mental or even spiritual territory that you may face, God knows where you need to be. Where you are right now is exactly where you should be. One priest said it this way: “Die Here is Die Here, en Die Here weet.” (The Lord is The Lord and The Lord knows). In all times and situations, we should emulate our Lord in glorifying God, as we are called to do: “Do not be anxious, but in everything, make your requests known to God in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving. Then the peace of
God, which is beyond all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 6, 7). In this way, we will succeed in reaching out to the ‘other’ in their time of displacement and upheaval, inviting even the unloved and unwanted to call our hearts Home.

FRONTIERS • MEXICO-GUATEMALA BORDER

A Stop-Over for Healing

Faced with the migration crisis at the border of Guatemala and Mexico, the Comboni Missionary Sisters (CMS) decided to commit themselves and respond to it. They opened a centre which offers assistance and rehabilitation to the queues of migrants who journey northwards

BY Sr Pompea Cornacchia CMS | Tapachula, Mexico

HUNDREDS OF women, young people, girls and boys, arrive at Belen Reception Centre every day but this diocesan shelter in Tapachula is not their final destination. Hailing from Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Haiti, they have one thing in common: they pursue the American dream. Tapachula, a city in the state of Chiapas, is just a place of transit. It is among the most dangerous Mexican border cities. This small city, neighbouring Guatemala, witnesses the daily crossing of thousands of migrants from Central America and the Caribbean, including Africans and Asians.

Effata crisis intervention programme

The Comboni Missionary Sisters set up a crisis intervention programme called Effata at the Belen shelter, to assist and serve the migrants. Effata is a powerful word which in Aramaic means, be opened. It expresses a desire and a commitment in favour of life.

A community of four Comboni Sisters, from Costa Rica, Mexico and Italy welcome and provide support and compassionate care to the migrants. Three are dedicated to listening and healing through spiritual and therapeutic accompaniment, assisting those who strive to integrate their experience of trauma. Under the Sisters’ care, they renew their hope, self-esteem and courage. Another Sister gives handicraft classes. Both children and adults participate joyfully in art therapy which helps them to develop their creativity. The intervention is focused on two steps: accommodation of the population in shelters or refugee camps and repatriation to their countries of origin to help them to continue in their rehabilitation process.

A community of four Comboni Sisters welcome and provide support and compassionate care to the migrants

The Mexican border is flooded with tears, nightmares and dreams of those who cross it every day. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in 2019, around 450 000 people crossed the border from Guatemala into Mexico seeking asylum or trying to continue their journey towards the north. Young people are fleeing from gang violence, while others are forcibly displaced. Poverty, inequality, social unrest and lack of opportunities are other factors that cause people to leave their families and their countries.

Witnessing the arrival of caravans of migrants at the southern border of Mexico in 2018, the Comboni Missionary Sisters decided to get involved in their humanitarian care. They realised that the reception conditions for migrants in Tapachula were very poor and limited. People were facing serious difficulties in terms of accommodation and food. The most vulnerable, such as single mothers with small children, large families, pregnant women, unaccompanied children and adolescents, the elderly, LGBTQ people, survivors of sexual violence, faced even more precarious situations. Moreover, the Siglo XXI migration station, where thousands of migrants are detained, is also located in Tapachula.

Numerous migrations

As a response to this humanitarian emergency, a CMS community was established in May 2019. Since then, the Comboni Sisters have been committed to promoting the human rights of migrants in collaboration with the Hospitalidad y Solidaridad shelter, a space for refugees and asylum seekers.

In the last two decades, the transit of migrants through Mexico has become a critical phenomenon of human mobility, both in terms of its magnitude and the conditions in which it occurs. Massive flows have gained the attention of the academic and media world. Understanding the causes, effects, risks and vulnerability of those who enter the Mexican territory without proper documentation is crucial. On the other hand, the ordinary transit of Central Americans, the so-called caravans or exoduses that began in 2010 and continued from 2018 to 2020 received contradictory responses in the host communities: rejection by some members and welcome by others.

Poverty, inequality, social unrest and lack of opportunities are other factors that cause people to leave their families and their countries

In 2020, the lockdown due to the pandemic put migrants and asylum seekers at risk at the border and in detention centres. Trapped, they became even more vulnerable to organised crime. Borders were closed and migrants were left unattended, as the centres did not provide them with security. Feelings of incomprehension and despair, as well as a loss of orientation, became an open challenge. At the moment, stranded migrants, asylum seekers and refugees say that they are modifying their American dream into a Mexican dream.

Through the programme, women lighten their backload, their energy flows back, and healing takes place. Some arrive with an accumulated amount of grief and sometimes they can’t even breathe. As they process their pain, loss and grief, they regain a sense of courage, strength and determination. Some of them commit themselves to help others who are in the early stages of the healing process.

Much work remains to be done in the Effata intervention programme at the Belen shelter in Tapachula. However, we Comboni Missionary Sisters know that we are not alone. The Spirit of Jesus and the solidarity of the world community strengthen us for service. To you, migrant woman, we say with tenderness, “Open yourself with renewed hope to a more human world: Effata!”.

Memorial • POPE BENEDICT XVI

A HUMBLE SPIRIT AND A FIRM THEOLOGIAN

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world in 2013. His honesty, faced with what he saw as an insurmountable task, granted him worldwide admiration. Considered as one of the greatest theologians of recent times he has also revealed himself as a mystic through his numerous writings and his search for the God of love and truth

BY DR JOSÉ MARIO BAUTISTA MAXIMIANO* | MANILA, THE PHILIPPINES

ON THE morning of 31 December 2022 at the Mater Ecclesia Monastery, the residence of the Pope emeritus in the Vatican since 2013, Benedict XVI in a soft but distinguishable voice and comprehensible words, said in Italian: Signore ti amo! (Lord, I love you!) and subsequently died.

Church bells rang out across Germany, his country of birth, and other places in mourning for Benedict XVI on the day of his funeral. Tributes from every corner of the globe poured in, while bishops everywhere
offered Requiem Masses for his soul.

His successor Pope Francis, led the funeral service on 6 January 2023 in front of 50 000 people. The German pontiff was then laid to rest in the Vatican crypt, in the same spot where St John Paul II and St John XXIII were previously buried before their canonizations, 100 feet away from the tomb of St Peter the Apostle, the first pope.

Defender of doctrine

Retired Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong believed that the late Benedict XVI will be a “powerful intercessor in heaven” for the suffering Catholics in China. He also remembered him as the Church’s intellectual force and a “great defender of the faith.”

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who in 2005 assumed the Petrine Ministry as Benedict XVI, had lived in Rome since 1981, away from his motherland. As a cardinal, charged with enforcing doctrinal purity, Benedict was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith, the oldest among the sacred congregations of the Roman Curia. This congregation, now the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, was created in 1542 by Pope Paul III.

A January 2022 report on sexual abuse in the diocese of Munich, Germany, blasted Ratzinger’s ‘inaction’ regarding abuse cases during his period as archbishop from 1977 to 1982. In reaction to the report,
the pope emeritus formally apologised in writing but did not admit to any administrative failures.

Benedict punished Marcial Maciel, the powerful founder of the Legionaries of Christ. He publicly criticized Irish bishops for their mishandling of the sexual abuse crisis, but he did not move to open Vatican records to a public investigation.

For many survivors of clerical sexual abuse, the German pontiff’s actions were not enough. The sin imputed upon Benedict XVI appeared to be more of omission than commission and for this, the late pope was often misunderstood, seemingly a brilliant man at odds with the modern world.

However, does being misunderstood and controversial mean that he did not live a heroic life of virtues? Pius XII, although misunderstood, was declared venerable. John Paul I and John Paul II were controversial in death, but they are now considered holy pontiffs. Sanctity does not shield anyone from being misunderstood and controversial, from
betrayal, personal attacks, and gossip.

A man of humble heart

At his 2006 lecture at the Regensburg University, on religion and violence, Pope Benedict XVI quoted a hotly contested 14th-century statement made by Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos in the presence of a Persian scholar. According to the Emperor, prophet Muhammad would have brought a negative contribution to humanity. The Holy Father
remarked that the imperial address was “in an astoundingly harsh way, to us surprisingly brusque way.” The Pope quoted the Emperor’s words to make a point in his speach, but he didn’t approve of his statement.

Suddenly, the whole Islamic world exploded in anger, with high-profile politicians and religious leaders joining the bandwagon of protests against what they saw as an insulting misrepresentation of Islam.

Mass street protests were mounted in several Islamic countries, with the Majlis- e-Shoora or the Pakistani parliament unanimously calling on the Holy Father to retract “this objectionable statement.”

Benedict XVI himself wrote a personal and simple note explaining his position:
“I hope that the reader of my text can see immediately that this sentence does not express my personal view of the Qur’an, for which I have the respect due to the holy book of a great religion.”

The Pope emeritus, genuinely a servant leader, just knew that the Throne of Peter was meant not for supremacy but for service

The gentle Pope, in his humility and love for reconciliation, offered a sincere apology addressed to all Muslim brothers and sisters worldwide. Furthermore, against the better judgment of his advisers, the Holy Father bravely decided to visit Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, to pray in its Blue Mosque in December 2006. Two years later, he organized the First Meeting of the Catholic-Muslim Forum with Muslim scholars and religious leaders in Rome.

Resignations

His death did not come as a surprise, unlike his resignation in 2013, announced as an electric shock for the whole world. On that occasion, Benedict XVI told the assembled cardinals:

“In today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the Barque of St Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind
and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognise my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, Successor
of Saint Peter.” With his own words, ‘I renounce,’ His Holiness descended from the Chair of Peter for good!

The last time a pope resigned voluntarily had been in 1294. Only after five months of being the Vicar of Christ, St Celestine V, a former Benedictine monk, resigned from his office with the intention of fleeing
Rome and going back to his hermitage in the hills of Aquila, in central Italy.

Pope Celestine had a mortal man’s desire to be alone with the Immortal God. Unlike dictators, tyrants, and other politicians, a servant leader is forever appalled by earthly power as if it were leprosy. An old manuscript from the Martyrologium Romanum explains, for our edification, Celestine’s desire to resign:

‘The desire for humility, for a purer life, for a stainless conscience, the deficiencies of his physical strength, his ignorance, the perverseness of the people, his longing for the tranquillity of his former life.’

Courageous decision

Popes are supposed to run out the clock and just wait for Father Time to come knocking and die in office. For health reasons, our German pontiff decided in 2013 to abdicate the papacy. The Pope emeritus, genuinely a servant leader, just knew that the Throne of Peter was meant not for supremacy but for service.

Pope Francis called it “an example of greatness,” that is, Benedict’s decision to abdicate the supposedly life-long papacy, a personal example of renouncing power when it’s time to renounce it.

In the morning of 28 February 2013, Pope Benedict met the College of Cardinals; by the afternoon, he had left the Vatican. He flew by helicopter to the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo and stayed there until he transferred to his permanent retirement home, the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican, on 2 May 2013.

His resignation was indeed a forceful message of detachment and simplicity to the world so thirsty for power, money, and prestige. As a retired pope, Benedict XVI ceased to wear the red papal shoes and continued to wear the white cassock but without the tufted fascia or pellegrina—a sash worn above the waist, white in colour in the case of the Pope.

Most of all, Benedict discontinued using his official Fisherman’s Ring. So, there was never a parallel papacy since 2013. In his official farewell address to the College of Cardinals, even before the election of the
next pontiff, Benedict XVI proclaimed: “In your midst is the next pope. I promise him obedience.”

By so declaring, Benedict XVI trusted that the papacy is a divine institution, rooted in apostolic succession and that the Holy Spirit is at work until the end of the world.

A total of 266 popes have governed the Catholic Church, from St Peter the Apostle to Francis, one after another, without breaking the Apostolic Succession. The nightmare scenario of a ‘parallel magisterium’ as predicted by canon lawyers and Vatican observers in 2013 never happened.

A long life

Of the 266 popes in succession, only 12 have reached the age of 85, including Pope Francis. Benedict XVI at 95 is the oldest person in history to have been pope, surpassing Pope Leo XIII, who died at 93.

He was a peaceful and introspective man deeply interested in classical music. His Holiness was an accomplished pianist who played Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart whose “music is by no means just entertainment,”
according to him, for “it contains the whole tragedy of human existence.”

In 2018, Benedict XVI wrote a letter which was published in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, capitalizing the word “Casa” to refer to his heavenly home. “I am on a pilgrimage toward Home,” he penned.

*Dr José Mario Bautista Maximiano is the author of MCMLXXII: 500-Taong Kristiyano (Claretian, 2021), that recently won the Best Book in Ministry at the 16th Cardinal Sin Catholic Book Awards 2022.

PROFILE • FR STAN SWAMY

THE DEMISE OF A HERO

The life of Fr Stan is a testimony to the defence of the human rights of underpriviledged peasants in India. His sentence and subsequent death in prison raised an outcry all over the world, but his inspiring witness to righteousness keeps the flame of justice alive

BY ARCHBISHOP THOMAS MENAMPARAMPIL SDB | ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS OF GUWAHATI, INDIA

BY Marian Pallister | Editor
JERRY CUTINHA SJ | PHOTOS

HE WAS 84 years old. He had Parkinson’s disease, back pain, and impaired hearing. He had been in Taloja Central Jail on the outskirts of the Indian city of Mumbai on trumped-up charges for nine months. While in jail, Fr Stan Swamy had a fall and then contracted COVID.

Just a few days before his death on 5 July 2021, Fr Stan had written to India’s National Investigation Authorities saying that he was willing to “pay the price”. He certainly paid it, and that price was high.

The authorities refused him bail on grounds that there was no “conclusive proof of his ailments”. By the time he was admitted to the Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai, it was too late for any compassion from the State. The world was shocked.

Beacon of light

This gentle man had been arrested on 8 October 2020 along with 15 others, all intellectuals and social activists, charged with promoting violence.

The Bar Association of India, a voluntary body which represents almost its entire legal profession, accused the State of “lacking in compassion and inhumane approach” by imposing pre-trial detention on a respected person of advanced age, weak health and fragile constitution. Prominent social leaders wrote to the civil authorities expressing “deep anguish” at
the foisting of false accusations against innocent persons.

He wanted to make people experience God’s love in a concrete way in the midst of harsh situations

This worldwide support for Fr Stan, an Indian Jesuit Roman Catholic priest and tribal rights activist held no sway with the authorities.

Fr Stan had spent his final months acting as a beacon of light to his fellow prisoners. They say he brought cheer and joy, courtesy and optimism to this group of falsely accused campaigners. His moral thinking, love for humanity and longterm vision of human realities inspired those heartbroken individuals to whom unfair punishment had been meted out. He wanted to make people experience God’s love in a concrete way in the midst of harsh situations. The example he left behind will not be forgotten and his ideals will surely be discussed in institutions dedicated to human welfare and intellectual circles of social commitment.

Early years

Fr Stan Swamy was born Stanislaus Lourdswamy, in Trichy in the Indian
state of Tamilnadu on 26 April 1937. He enrolled himself at St Joseph’s School run by the Jesuits, and a little later joined them in their life of dedicated service. He was eager to serve the poor and the needy in
their greatest hardship. His post was to be in the northern state of Jharkhand, an area of deprived and under-developed indigenous tribal communities. The only asset these communities had was their land, which was greatly threatened by mighty corporations eager to take
possession of areas where they found mineral resources. Tribal communities, less acquainted with the law and their rights, needed to be guided and inspired. A mighty task awaited young Stan who was still maturing in his religious convictions and in understanding the imbalances in the modern economy.

At Chaibasa, a mining hub (and interestingly, given the way Fr Stan’s life
panned out, the hometown of Birsa Munda, India’s most well-known tribal freedom fighter at the end of the 19th century), Fr Stan and his students would discuss the happenings in their neighbourhood with the villagers. He would discuss and try to evaluate situations of unfairness and explore ways of being helpful in society in a constructive way. He visited homes and sought to learn more about the cultures and values of
the smaller tribes such as the Munda’s or Ho’s. He found it an exciting topic. He knew well that missionaries become effective in their service only with a deep understanding of the tribal character of the community they work with. He understood that cultural immersion is central to apostolic fruitfulness.

Indigenous communities

The next stage of his formation was in Manilla in the Philippines, where he studied theology, giving attention to sociological themes. He quickly recognised that indigenous communities right around the world were being taken advantage of by more advanced societies; that they needed special assistance. He realised that indigenous communities are vessels of inestimable wisdom, particularly in their relationship with nature and among fellow human beings.

Back on the sub-continent, Fr Stan stayed at Badaibir, learning from village life, before going to Louvain in Belgium to continue his reflection at a theoretical level. In time he returned to the painful realities of village life in India.

Jesus’s rural life in the villages of Galilee during the years of a tyrannical
Roman Governor inspired Fr Stan to enable rural communities in India
to organise and motivate themselves to seek justice. He did yeoman service at the Indian Social Institute, run by the Jesuits, which trained thousands of young people in socially responsible thinking, reflecting on human rights, taking the side of the oppressed, and encouraging self-governance. He became well aware of the tragedy of large numbers of indigenous communities being displaced from their land without sensitivity or social responsibility.

Centre for social activists

In 2006, he opened a centre at Bagicha, Ranchi, in Jharkhand to give support to social activists. Unfair displacement was his central concern. “Defend your land rights”, was the call. The people were “like sheep without a shepherd” and Fr Stan became the shepherd, a truly motivating force. The indigenous communities looked to him for inspiration and guidance, and he emerged as an icon inspiring self-confidence in those who were too timid to assert their rights over
their heritage. However, when people began erecting the traditional stone that affirmed their right over their land, the civil authorities began to arrest activists behind the movement.

Fr Stan Swamy identified himself with people’s sufferings. He joined hands with men and women of all faiths and persuasions as long as they were genuinely committed to humanity. There was no streak
of violence in his character, only the love of humanity. In fact, he claimed to belong to a universal society.

There was no streak of violence in his character, only the love of humanity

Soon the authorities saw that his presence was a mighty force providing light and energy to the movement that he had set in motion. The powerful corporates, greedy for this mineral-rich land, wanted him moved out of the tribal belt—and so, he was arrested, with the authorities inexplicably associating Fr Stan with the Bhima-Koregaon conspiracy case in another part of India.

Why were those in power afraid of an octogenarian. This particular octogenarian had become a beacon for those struggling for justice, a role model for young people across the nation. All tribal rights activists looked up to him, so the state wanted to make an example of him.

Life rendered for the oppressed

St Rani Maria had laid down her life defending landless labourers. Was Fr Stan to follow in her footsteps? Fr Felix Raj says that Fr Stan was working for a more humane and just society, defending people and their livelihood against corporate interests and corrupt politicians who plunder natural resources. “They wanted him out of the way. He wanted, like St Ignatius, to ‘set the world on fire’. He identified himself with people’s sufferings. He joined hands with people of all faiths and persuasions
as long they were genuinely committed to humanity.”

The requests of dozens of prestigious social welfare agencies around the world fell on deaf ears. When he became ill in prison, he refused to go to a state hospital where the reports could be manipulated. By the time he was finally admitted into a Catholic hospital, Covid-19 had taken
its toll. The end came even sooner than expected. Fr Stan had the habit of invoking silence from time to time in honour of the martyrs who had given up their lives for the cause of the deprived. The world paused in his honour a brief while, struck dumb by the insensitivity of those responsible for his tragic end.

The United States Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) condemned the entire legal process in the strongest terms. Its Office expressed its distress at the death of Fr Stan Swamy in custody and called for greater respect for human rights. Rahul Gandhi lamented,
“He deserved justice and humane treatment”. There were protests from all over the country. The only reply from the authorities concerned was that “all due processes have been followed”.

A martyrdom that challenges us all

The passage of John’s Gospel read at Fr Stan’s funeral Mass narrated the scourging of Jesus. The homily referred to Pontius Pilate unable to find fault with Jesus while handing him over to be crucified: once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge
against him”.

Society as a whole had found no fault with Fr Stan Swamy. There were commemorative services in numerous institutions and prayer centres. Candlelight processions took place around the country. His remains were honoured. A documentary film was produced to pay him final homage. Fr Cutinha, the Jamshedpur Provincial of the Jesuits, said: “May the martyrdom of Stan inspire and challenge us” to work for
justice and reconciliation.

This man who was certainly no silent spectator, paid a high price. He has not been silenced because his inspiration and his work live on. Others will continue defending the marginalised and vulnerable people, speaking out against atrocities and the violation of human rights. Fr Stan didn’t work alone. He networked with others who continue supporting many initiatives for the development of Jharkhand. He made sure that there were many trained to galvanise the struggle against the brutal dispossession of land.

Fr Stan’s fight was no flight of fancy. In his quiet, well-mannered, gentle way, he wanted the people he so much cared about to have the right to a dignified life. He believed that these people, so dependent on water, forest and land, must have their dignity restored. He gave his life because he believed in the defence of legitimate constitutional rights. He was hounded because of his support of the Adivasi (tribal people) and Dalits (those once called ‘untouchables’ in the caste system).

As Fr Stanislaus D’Souza said, “He has given us an ethical mandate to be compassionate, to be the voice of the voiceless.”

Last December, according to the Vatican News agency, a new investigation conducted by a Boston-based digital forensic firm, Arsenal Consulting, concluded that incriminating documents containing false evidence were planted in the hard drive of Fr Stan’s computer to implicate him and accuse the Jesuit with charges of sedition.

REFLECTIONS • FAITH RESPONSE

The Quest for a Better Life: Enhancing Solidarity with Migrants and Refugees

In this reflection, the author presents a genuinely Christian response, grounded in Scripture, to the drama of millions of migrants and refugees throughout the world who call out at our doors

BY Fabian Oliver | Theologian, Johannesburg

Escaping terror, finding terror

For many migrants and refugees, leaving their homeland is not only the quest for a better life, but for some, it is their only hope of staying alive. Many are fleeing from the horrors of civil war, violent dictatorships, sexual abuse of women, and extreme forms of poverty and oppression. The search for a better life is perhaps the signalling of a spirituality that chooses life in the midst of death. For some, it is an awareness that God still loves them and wants them to have life in its fullness—and this keeps them going.

However, the quest for a better life is often met with a different kind of terror in their new dwelling place in the form of ghastly living conditions in refugee camps, exploitation by local government officials, afrophobia, xenophobia, and gravely underpaid employment. We are not to forget that for many migrants and refugees the situation they find themselves in is not isolated and exists in a history of slavery, colonialism, racism, and systemic patriarchy. There remains a dire need for justice and solidarity for migrants and refugees. This reflection offers possible considerations.

Solidarity is Biblical

Throughout the Bible, there are stories of migration and refuge. From the onset, there are various teachings on how the Israelites ought to treat the ‘foreigner, stranger or alien.’ As part of the laws of justice and mercy in Exodus 23: 9, the people are reminded not to oppress the foreigner for they themselves know what it feels like to be oppressed in another country. Thus, hospitality towards strangers is a key part of Israelite identity. Jesus’ birth is also marked by His parents becoming refugees, fleeing

their homeland to a place of safety (Mt 2: 13–23). In His ministry, Jesus knew about the experience of not being welcome, feeling destitute, and without a dwelling place. This is evident in His words, “the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests but the Son of man has no place to lay His head” (Lk 9: 58). Jesus notes that the Kingdom of God will be given to those who welcome the stranger, for in doing so they have welcomed Him (Mt 25: 35).

Thinking theologically

Reflecting on migration and God, Botha (2013) offers the metaphor of God as a migrant who derives from God’s dwelling of non-accessible light to[wards] creation. Thus, in Jesus, God comes to us as a stranger in our midst. In reflecting on Jesus’ birth story marked by fleeing from violence, Askevold (2008) boldly states that every migrant [refugee or asylum seeker] “carries the face of Christ, and this compels us to act in a way that protects this innate dignity.” In a similar vein, we can say it is God who waits at the border with the many destitute, it is God who settles in conditions of squallor in the refugee camps, and it is God who weeps with those who have lost loved ones drowned at sea. On the flip side of a theology of God as a migrant, we can also think of God, who is the Creator of our cosmos, and thus it is God who has welcomed us into Himself as children, offering us the land as a means of living life in abundance together. Therefore, we are called to be stewards of the land. This idea of God was reminiscent of the prayer for refugees said by Pope Francis during his trip to the migrants, refugees and asylum seekers at the port of Lesbos:

Jesus notes that the Kingdom of God will be given to those who welcome the stranger, for in doing so they have welcomed Him

“Merciful God, may we share with them the blessings we have received from Your hand, and recognize that together, as one human family, we are all migrants, journeying in hope to You, our true home, where every tear will be wiped away, where we will be at peace and safe in Your embrace.” (Vatican Radio 2016).

Solidarity and advocacy

The situation with migrants and refugees calls us to an ever-present solidarity with all who suffer and are pushed to the peripheries of society. It calls us to carefully think of our methods and governance towards those seeking a better life. More radically, solidarity calls to question our own xenophobia, indifference, and self-centredness. It calls us to question the very reason why there is perpetual displacement, violence, and poverty visited upon certain communities. We need to critique policies and notions that view solidarity and concern for the poor and the marginalised as obstacles to economic growth. Beyond the vast amounts of social aid and policies geared towards migrants and refugees, the question remains, why is the situation and treatment of these people so vile and oppressive? There are no quick fixes or easy answers. However, there are ample possibilities for attaining a better life for all, working together as people, religious organisations, civil society, government, private and public sectors.

FEATRUES • SR MARIA DE LOURDES LODI RISSINI

PASTORAL CARE OF MIGRANTS: WELCOME, PROTECT, PROMOTE AND INTEGRATE

Sr Maria De Lourdes Lodi Rissini, a Scalabrinian Missionary Sister hailing from Brazil, has been working in South Africa for more than ten years. Currently, she is the National Co-ordinator of Caritas South Africa and Co-ordinator of the Migrants and Refugees Office for South Africa, Botswana and Eswatini on the South African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC). Here she shares about this important service in the Church

BY RAFAEL ARMADA MCCJ | PRETORIA
SR MARIA LODI RISSINI | SACBC MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES OFFICE

What is the estimated population of migrants and refugees in the SACBC region and what are their main nationalities?

The number of people living in South Africa born in other countries was
estimated in the 2022 Africa Migration Report to be about 4.2 million, or 7% of the total population of the country. Among them are more than 250 000 refugees and asylum seekers from countries such as Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Somalia and Zimbabwe.

What are their main urgent needs?

They have a variety of needs according to the reasons for their immigration to South Africa. For most, South Africa offers economic opportunities. Asylum seekers and refugees are coming for safety
purposes due to persecution and wars. In Africa, approximately 30 million people are displaced due to environmental hazards. Those asylum seekers or refugees coming from an unskilled background have more needs than others. They need counselling, access to family tracing services, legal and migration advice regarding their documentation, interpreters/translators, health and mental health care, and access to education. Upon arrival, they have urgent basic needs such as nutrition,
clothes, shelter, domestic items and access to government services, such as Home Affairs, Health and Education.

What types of exploitation are they mostly exposed to?

Most of them are exposed to exploitation from the time they depart towards South Africa. On their way, most women are victims of robbery, rape, torture and hunger, often including their children. Once they are in South Africa, immigrants are exposed to robbery, slavery, sexual abuse
and labour-related abuses, exploitation, corruption in public services, (such as Home Affairs), and xenophobic behaviour by officials, including harassment.

What kind of help do they seek when approaching the Catholic Church?

In general, when they approach the services of the Catholic Church, they ask for assistance related to food, nutrition for babies, clothing, domestic items, school stationery, school uniforms, payment of rent, assistance for funerals, legal assistance for documentation, access to
Home Affairs, transport, medication, access to health, skill training, help to study English and local languages and to have access to work or to start small businesses.

On March 2022, you were recognised as a Distinguished Knight of The Order of the Star by the President of Italy. What does that award mean for you?

I was not aware that I was being considered for an award. I felt honoured to receive that distinction from the President and the Government of Italy, through their Embassy and Consulate in South Africa.

I dedicate this important award to God who called me to serve Him in different countries. The mission as a Scalabrinian Missionary Sister has been enriched by the diversity of people whom I have met and served during my life. This is part of the Mission of the Church and the calling
I received, of putting into practice the invitation of Pope Francis to welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants and refugees through Caritas and Pastoral Care.

I am grateful to many people who are working with me and I consider them also as co-recipients of this award even though I am unable to mention them all. I just mention a few of them, the Scalabrinian Congregation; the Bienvenu Shelter; the Catholic Archdiocese of Johannesburg, especially Archbishop Buti Tlhagale for being an inspiring leader and for his continuous support and encouragement to respond to the challenges imposed by modern society; the SACBC, especially those who are part of its Migrants and Refugees Office; and
Caritas South Africa. This award includes all the people that are part of my history. I am grateful to them all.

How successful has the Church’s response in southern Africa to the invitation made by Pope Francis been? What challenges still lie ahead?

The Bishops during their Plenary meeting of February 2019, decided that a coordinated response is needed to the plight of migration in all dioceses of the SACBC region. They approved common resolutions to implement the Pastoral Care for Migrants and Refugees in their respective dioceses and parishes.

In order to implement this structure, the SACBC Migrants and Refugees Office provided a common tool for training and formation programmes for Pastoral Care agents and distributed it to all 29 dioceses.

Formation/training for leaders took place in 18 strategic arch/dioceses which are bordering the different countries or entry ports to South Africa. Afterwards, the arch/diocese can train its volunteers and collaborators. The four verbs used by Pope Francis, welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating migrants are included in the formation programme and
structure of the office at the diocesan level. This plan helps to better address the challenges of migrants and refugees.

Since 2020, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI of Johannesburg is part of the Multi-Religious Council of Leaders of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and Religions for Peace. He is also the High-Level profile to prevent Statelessness and the UNHCR # I Belong Campaign.

Some of the challenges we face are related to the economic situation of southern Africa which does not permit us to have enough human and material resources to better run our socio-pastoral programmes.

The environment and reality that migrants and refugees live in are exposing them to more vulnerabilities, exclusion and poverty.

What is the role and activities of the Diocesan co-ordinators for migrants?

We aim that each Pastoral Parish Council (PPC) identify, elect or co-opt a subcommittee among its members whose functions/roles could be:

• To co-ordinate migrants’ and refugee
  affairs within the parish community.
• With the assistance of the rest of the PPC,
  facilitate, create and promote a welcoming
  and hospitable parish community.
• To create a discussion forum on issues
  of concern to both migrants and the
  local communities.
• At the parish level, liaise with the religious
  and NGO groups that are involved
  in migrant issues.
• To plan and adopt best practices concerning
  the assistance given to migrants
  and refugees.
• To co-operate with other organizations
  such as Caritas, St Vincent de Paul, Catholic
  Women’s League and the Knights of
  Da Gama in their charitable activities.
• To facilitate the provision of language
  lessons, if needed.
• To pay special attention to the needs of
  migrants’ children.
• To facilitate the integration of migrants
  into the local community.
• To find ways and means of dissuading the
  local community from taking out their
  dissatisfactions on the migrant community.
• To help migrants to cultivate their faith and
  respect their beliefs, including prayers of
  reconciliation and bereavement.
• To prevent statelessness.

To implement these activities financial/material resources are needed. Churches are offering humanitarian support to many people in need. This is a challenge for all the faithful to work together in unity and solidarity.

How is the Church counteracting xenophobic attitudes in our society?

The Church tries to quickly respond to victims of xenophobia by providing food, shelter, clothes, and medical assistance in solidary with their pains and loss.

The Church in South Africa guided by its leaders, denounces xenophobic or Afrophobic attitudes. The SACBC Liaison Bishops for Migrants and Refugees has issued various statements and Pastoral Letters to South Africans and non-South Africans against xenophobia. They invited the Government to play its role to bring to account those who promote xenophobia. The South Africa Council of Churches together organised roundtable discussions, prayer sessions and statements against xenophobia. The Church, in general, is mobilizing
and promoting peace, reconciliation, and respect, principles of common ethics for all people of different cultures. One of the principles of democracy is respect for the rights of movement. The Social Teaching
of the Catholic Church is also very clear regarding human dignity. The Church continues to give awareness to their communities to live with respect and harmony.

What would you invite the readers of Worldwide magazine to do faced with this situation?

I would like to invite all people of God to combat xenophobia. I believe this is the responsibility of each human being, as God made us all in His own image. In our social space, we can live out our duty as a public witness to the reign of God, opposing these kinds of attacks which
cause deep entrenched pain and hatred.

We are called to engage with our churches and civil society to create a safe environment that is good for all. It implies moving from our selfishness to thinking of others. We also need to have a co-ordinated
strategy with other stakeholders and agencies in order to come up with a more lasting and effective plan to prevent future re-occurrences of such brutal attacks.

CHALLENGES • SMUGGLING OF MIGRANTS

SEARCH FOR A MORE DIGNIFIED LIFE

A conjunction of persistent conflicts, persecutions, economic challenges and poverty, has fuelled a population movement in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and across Africa as a whole. Smuggled migrants constitute a significant part of the whole migrant population of the SADC region

BY CLAUDIUS G.W. ZINDOGA & EPHRAIM C. LUHANGA | FULA AFRICA, PRETORIA
EPHRAIM C. LUHANGA | Photos

SMUGGLING IS defined as “the facilitation, for financial or other gains, of irregular entry into a country where the person is not a national or a resident” (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: UNODC). The unscrupulous who identified huge profits in this trade have developed criminal networks across the region which enable smuggling.

While the phenomenon of migrant smuggling is a global concern, the challenge is under-reported in SADC. South Africa is a destination country from far distant origins such as the Horn of Africa. Admittedly, the crime is of an underground nature which makes it difficult to identify, but the fact that it continues to grow in the region presents a challenge
which requires greater attention.

As long as problems persist in various countries on the continent, and stringent migration regimes remain in place, smuggling will continue. The high profits and low risk associated with this activity are attractive to unscrupulous criminals.

Realities of abuse

Some might view the victims as active participants in the process—as willing to take the risks to escape their predicaments—though taken advantage of by smugglers. However, seeing it from that perspective, the greater picture of the crime committed and its gross violations are overlooked.

Obsession with a more favourable or better future becomes a nightmare for immigrants who travel irregularly. Smuggled migrants are subject to gross abuses, violation and exploitation en route and on arrival. Because a greater section of the smuggled migrants are undocumented,
their vulnerability is amplified and due to their immigration status, violations and crimes against migrants go unreported. Smuggled migrants are subject to high levels of abuse. Women from Malawi have recounted high levels of abuse at the hands of smugglers which include
rape and physical abuse. Zimbabweans recount being extorted by smugglers on arrival in South Africa, where smugglers hold migrants as hostages in various parts of the country until relatives have paid the required ransom.

Smuggled migrants have also emerged as victims of human trafficking. It has arisen that smugglers have begun to collaborate with traffickers. In field visits to places that are known to frequent smugglers as well as brothels, women from Zimbabwe, Malawi and Lesotho have ended up as sex workers, working under pimps in parts of Johannesburg. This
trend is of concern in the South African context, where there is a discourse and ongoing debate on the decriminalisation of prostitution, wherein if decriminalisation does take place, smuggled migrants and victims of prostitution are likely to augment the supply.

Labour exploitation

Smuggled migrants are exploited in diverse jobs by more and more small entrepreneurs and unregulated labour businesses. The smuggled migrants are willing to accept a pittance for salaries from unregulated labour markets, because they cannot get better opportunities as they are undocumented. As a result, the migrants have been at the receiving end of hate from locals in the form of xenophobia.

Just before the COVID-19 lockdown, in parts of Pretoria and Johannesburg, Fula Africa, a non-profitable organisation identified car garages run by certain nationals who employed their fellow countrymen/women under poor working conditions because they were irregular migrants. In Pretoria, during the same period, a subcontractor of a well-known car factory took advantage of smuggled young artisans and graduates from his country who worked long hours and were
underpaid. In Durban, the same trend has been observed in the fibre network installation industry where contractors employed and similarly exploited workers.

The Mpumalanga /Cullinan case

A farm running an abattoir in the province of Mpumalanga employed a significant number of migrant workers. While some of them had passports, they did not have permits to undertake work in South Africa.
However, they were employed without labour contracts. A group of them, residing now in Cullinan, recounted that on 11 November 2022, the SAPS (South African Police Services), South African Home Affairs and individuals calling themselves members of the Dudula Movement,
reached the farm. Some migrants ran away once they sighted the triad.

They narrated that all foreign nationals on the farm were required to produce relevant documents to prove that they were in the country legally and had work permits. These foreign nationals included nationals from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Those who failed to provide
the relevant documentation were put into vans and taken into police custody. They indicated that the Mozambicans and Zimbabweans were to be deported immediately. The Malawians have remained in custody to date, as at 28 December 2022.

Those who managed to run away from the raid recounted that on return, their employer fired them, though they are willing to undertake actions against the employer for improper dismissal and to apply for the recognition of their acquired labour rights.

On a support visit to the migrants in Cullinan, those present sought assistance with food parcels to sustain themselves in the meantime. Women with underage children (under five years of age) were grateful not to be arrested because they had young children but lamented the fact that their breadwinners were imprisoned. Those migrants who were
not arrested indicated their desire to return to Malawi without delay hence their request for assistance for self-repatriation. Fula Africa deplores this heartrending situation currently happening in Cullinan, where many smuggled families who have been exploited have their breadwinners imprisoned, leaving behind mothers and infants to fend for
themselves.

Action is needed

Africa, SADC and all affected parties need to act urgently. As societies, we are not doing enough. The constant insecurity of migrants flowing into South Africa is regrettable; the lack of humanity and injustice committed by those who pursue the prospect of profit through the trials and tribulations of those who are vulnerable or seeking better opportunities, must be stopped.

Migrants have been at the receiving end of hate from locals in the form of xenophobia

The persistence of smuggling has fuelled crime and fostered cross-border syndicates. Evidence of the smuggling of migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic disturbingly revealed a greater organisation of the crime across the borders. Smuggled migrants continue to be apprehended and imprisoned under various immigration laws and face various forms of abuse daily, while smugglers and criminal networks continue to profit unchallenged via this lucrative business. This constitutes a mockery of justice! Civil society calls for a more effective criminal justice system and a proper response against a crime which
continues to grow.

While recognising the push and pull factors that encourage the mobility of people across the continent of Africa, the responsibility of the leaders of countries where migrants come from becomes clear. They need to be reminded of their ethical responsibility to protect their citizens.

How then is ‘the African as his brother’s and sister’s keeper’ going?

As per the UN Protocol against smuggling of migrants by land, air and sea signed on 12 December 2000 and various legislations signed by all SADC countries, greater co-operation to combat this crime within the region is urgently required. Society watches the hate ferment against
foreign nationals in the face of the shortage of resources and competition for jobs in South Africa. It is a regrettable loss of values of tolerance and fraternity. How then is ‘the African as his brother’s and sister’s keeper’ going?

SPECIAL REPORT • MIGRATION IN EUROPE

IRREGULAR MIGRATION TO EUROPE INCREASED IN ALMOST ALL ROUTES IN 2022

Europe seems to be headed for a migration crisis after experiencing an increased influx of refugees in 2022 mainly due to economic factors, effects of climate change and existing conflicts, including the war in Ukraine

BY MONICA REDONDO* | JOURNALIST, EL CONFIDENCIAL, MADRID, SPAIN EDITED AND UPDATED WITH FURTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION BY THE WORLDWIDE TEAM

THE NUMBER of irregular migrants who entered Europe in 2022 is reminiscent of 2016, a time when the European Union (EU) was experiencing the largest refugee crisis in her history due to the war in Syria. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the continent has reached a milestone in the number of irregular entries. Frontex, the agency which controls EU’s borders, recorded 281 000 irregular entries in the first ten months of 2022—a 77% increase compared to the same period in 2021, a figure which does not include the Ukrainian refugees officially hosted in several European countries (euronews.com). The most active route was the Western Balkans, where around 140 000 crossings were recorded, two and a half times more than in 2021 and the highest figure since the aforementioned Syrian refugee crisis.

According to Aljazeera news (aljazeera.com), Italy’s Interior Ministry counted more than 102 000 asylum seekers crossing on boats until 29 December 2022; compared to 66 500 in the same period last year.

The causes of this increase are certainly numerous, including the economic crisis as a result of the pandemic and local conflicts and wars. On the Balkan route, most irregular migrants come from Syria and Afghanistan, the former, in a seemingly endless war; the latter, under the yoke of the Taliban regime since August 2021. In the cases of migrants coming from African and Asian countries, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and economic reasons—among them food insecurity
caused by Russia’s blockade of grain exports from Ukraine—have caused thousands to leave their homes.

As EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson (2022) noted, the food and energy crises create situations of insecurity, unstable countries, stronger terrorist groups and better-organised criminal
gangs where people no longer feel safe to stay in their country.

Delayed effect

According Vít Novotný, an expert on migration, asylum and border control at the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, in an interview with the author of this article, the increase in migrant arrivals usually has a delayed effect. Now the number of Afghans trying to cross the borders is rising, despite the fact that the Taliban came to power more than a year and a half ago. European governments are concerned about rumours that Russia is trying to destabilise Europe using migration. “There is an opinion that suggests that Vladimir Putin is trying to use migration across the Libyan border to put pressure on the EU. There is no evidence of this, but it cannot be ruled out,” (Lanzavecchia 2022).

While migrants from different parts of the world come to the EU in search of peace, respect for human rights or better opportunities in life, Europeans are preoccupied with their energy crisis and high inflation. However, these factors do not seem to be discouraging migratory flows,
either because the migrants themselves are unfamiliar with the European context or because the crisis in their countries of origin is worse than the one taking place at their destination.

According to Camille Le Coz, a migration policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, in an interview with the author of this article, the conflict in Ukraine has increased vulnerability in many countries. “North African countries were heavily dependent on wheat from Ukraine and Russia, and this war has been a severe blow to their economies.”

Other reasons for migration hailing from these countries include the lack of job opportunities, tensions or violence within communities and the effects of climate change. Many migrants have relatives or acquaintances who left their country years ago and now live in Europe. This circumstance “continues to attract migrants because those already settled in Europe can help them by sharing information about the journey, paying for the trip and sometimes helping them to find a job once they arrive in Europe,” Le Coz stresses.

Solidarity—eternal?

One has also to look at the effects that the increase in irregular migrants to Europe is having in the region. According to the national Spanish television (rtve.es), more than 7.9 million Ukrainian refugees have been temporarily hosted by European countries. “Arrivals from the central Mediterranean region have been a secondary priority,” notes Le Coz. Although the numbers have been lower than those coming from Ukraine, their increase in recent years and especially the management of the migration flows, remain a cause for concern for European institutions.

The arrival of asylum seekers and refugees has an impact on housing, already problematic in countries such as France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Camille Le Coz warns that “the situation has now worsened, as many of the available housing units have been allocated to Ukrainians”. Ukrainians had a warm welcome in

the EU and popular support from European citizens. “We know that these perceptions can quickly reverse, especially over time, when the initial wave of solidarity dissipates”. Le Coz cautions that European
governments should “carefully manage the refugee narrative to avoid them becoming scapegoats for their economic crisis”.

Frontex, in its Risk Analysis for 2022/2023 report, foresees a future increase in migration. “Firstly, extreme weather events and their results such as environmental degradation, resource scarcity and lack of access to basic goods such as food and water will have an impact on health, economies, security, migration and competition for these limited resources”.

According to the report, “the conflict in Ukraine has already triggered economic turbulence, unprecedented refugee movements, an energy crisis and food shortages. The war will further fuel geopolitical competition and the effects may range from military conflicts to hybrid
wars. The whole situation creates the perfect earthquake for increased pressure at the borders”.

Awaited migration pact

Since 2015, EU migration flow management has become one of the main stumbling blocks for domestic and foreign policy. The EU-27 are unable to reach a migration asylum pact to manage the refugee crisis. The European Commission’s proposal is based on the idea that
their members are not obliged to take in migrants who have arrived in other countries, but if they do not do so, they must compensate in other ways, either by financing the repatriation of irregular migrants or by helping the countries that have taken them in.

Eve Geddie, director of Amnesty International’s EU office, says that after
a controversial agreement was signed between the EU and Turkey in 2016, on managing the Syrian refugee crisis, 15 000 women, men, girls and boys are still trapped in overcrowded camps on Greek islands. “Turkey, a country that has even sent people back to Syria, is not safe for refugees and asylum seekers. EU leaders must reinforce solidarity efforts, increase relocations to other member countries and follow the solidarity examples of activists and host communities across Europe,” said Geddie.

Fairness for all

Natalia Prokopchuk of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for Europe, in declarations to the Spanish journal El Confidencial, stressed that Ukraine has been an example of good
governance in receiving refugees. “The EU’s decision to offer temporary protection to refugees fleeing Ukraine has highlighted Europe’s capacity for an organised and workable approach to asylum, but the same should be extended to all nationalities,” notes Prokopchuk.

The organisation has often insisted on the need for sustainable asylum reform and progress on issues such as solidarity within the EU, adequate reception conditions and fair and speedy asylum procedures. “Dignified repatriations for migrants who wish to return to their countries of origin and who are not in need of international protection are equally crucial for a creble and wellmanaged system,” Prokopchuk stresses.

Until these objectives are met, the arrival of irregular migrants will remain an uncomfortable issue for the EU. The deaths of those attempting to cross borders by sea, in flimsy, unseaworthy boats,
have not stopped and remain shocking and shameful. Since 2014, 25 104 people have died and 16 032 went missing on Mediterranean routes (McAuliffe & Triandafyllidou 2021).

According to UNHCR (unhcr.org/news), at least 1 337 people have gone missing on the Central Mediterranean migration route this year according to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project.

The number of irregular migrants has increased on all routes to the EU except the Spanish border with Morocco, following the end of the crisis between the two countries.

The Channel border to the UK has been identified as another hotspot in recent months. More than 45 000 migrants have arrived in small boats across the English Channel from France in 2022, compared with less than 30 000 in 2021. In the first six months of 2022, the UK’s national
statistics office recorded more than half a million net migrant arrivals through government-approved routes, up from 173 000 in the year before.

“The UK’s partnership with France has already prevented over 30 000 illegal crossing attempts since the start of the year—more than 50% more than at the same stage last year”, according to UK Home Office data (gov.uk/). Nicholson & Kumin (2017) at UNHCR, recommend that
rather than preventing arrivals—many might need international protection—“it is better to invest in a fair, swift and efficient asylum procedure”.

Despite possible upcoming migration pacts among European states which may help to manage the situation, the increase in crossings will continue if the causes which provoke them, such as internal conflicts, economic and energy crises, high inflation and food shortages persist.